Trip to the Lowcountry

I got a call from Jordan, my brother who lives in DC, last Thursday checking to see if Laura and I wanted to come up to watch the Braves vs. Phillies series in Philly this past weekend. After checking on flights, we decided it wouldn't work. We decided instead to meet up in Charleston, SC where Andrew, one of my best friends from childhood and Jordan's roommate at Appalachian State lives and stay with him.

Jordan worked the overnight shift at his job in DC and got on a plane at 9 a.m. in Baltimore expecting after a stop in Philly to be in Charleston by 3 p.m.  All the while, Laura and I expected to come in hours after him and settle in for the night at Andrew's apartment around 8 p.m. We held up our end of the deal, but weather did not agree with Jordan's travel on Friday and had him grounded in Philly for over six hours. He didn't arrive til nearly 10 p.m. at Andrew's place. The trip was a bit frustrating, but nothing a late night trip to Waffle House couldn't cure!

Andrew lives in Mt. Pleasant, just a few short miles from Sullivan's Island where we spent the day lounging on the beach and soaking up sunshine, rain clouds, and enjoying some great boiled peanuts we picked up on the roadside! We were joined by Brian, another friend from Statesville and roommate of Jordan's from App, as well as his new bride Ashley. We of course did the wedding reviews throughout the day full of sitting, bocce ball, and floating in the tide pool. It was not until after the day out on the beach that I realized that I had actually forgotten to put sun tan lotion on my face, but hey the peeling will do me good...right?

After short naps and watching the Braves take the Phils in 11 innings (Go Bravos!), Andrew, Jordan, Laura, and I went out to dinner at Shem Creek Bar and Grill for some great seafood. Hushpuppies, crab cakes, jambalya, shrimp and grits, and steak were consumed among the group leaving us happy and tired. It was off to bed for Jordan soon after as he had an early wakeup for a 6:30 a.m. flight back to DC to get to work in the early afternoon.

On the way in from Macon, I realized that the section of Highway 17 that we travel on north from Savannah came across the turn to Kiawah Island south of Charleston that my family took for years to go to the beach! In an attempt to be adventurous, Laura and I set out some time on the island that was a big part of my youth. This of course was not without a stop in for breakfast at Bojangles!

I was able to show Laura a place that holds a great number of memories for my family and friends. We toured around on the short visit, but hope to get to visit together again soon (Christmas present anyone?!)! I was heartbroken to see the Kiawah Inn had been torn down. I knew it had been closed, but apparently for now the plan is to build a parking lot for the 2012 PGA Championship and then go from there so it was plowed over. The Inn pools and beach access had been our hang out spot. Hopefully they will put up something nice there for folks on the West side of the island once the tournament is done!

The journey took us through the villa neighborhoods my family used to frequent as well as Night Heron Park, and finally a visit to the new Sanctuary hotel on the island. We are hoping to get our families to visit together soon for some more memories!

The weekend was short, but it was great to spend time with friends and family. This week we head to Atlanta as Laura has a staff retreat and I am going to work for Student.Go out of the Atlanta office. We're hoping to spend some time with friends in the ATL and maybe even catch a much needed live Braves game!